Share-Based Compensation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Note 8. Share-Based Compensation

The Company has adopted an ESPP and offers share-based compensation through its equity compensation plan. Share-based compensation arrangements may include stock options, restricted and unrestricted stock awards, restricted stock units, performance units and stock appreciation rights. Accounting standards require all share-based payments to employees and non-employee directors to be valued using a fair value method on the date of grant and to be expensed based on that fair value over the applicable vesting period. The Company accounts for forfeitures during the vesting period as they occur.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Under the Company’s ESPP, substantially all employees of the Company and its subsidiaries can authorize a specific payroll deduction from their base compensation for the periodic purchase of the Company’s common stock. Shares of stock are issued quarterly at a discount to the market price of the Company’s stock on the day of purchase, which can range from 0-15% and was set at 5% for 2023 and for the first six months of 2024.

Total stock purchases under the ESPP amounted to 3,865 shares during the six months ended June 30, 2024. At June 30, 2024, the Company had 210,488 remaining shares reserved for issuance under the ESPP.

Incentive Stock Plan

The Incentive Stock Plan permits the issuance of up to 300,000 shares of common stock for awards to key employees and non-employee directors of the Company and its subsidiaries in the form of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, stock awards and performance units. As of June 30, 2024, only restricted stock had been granted under the Incentive Stock Plan.

Restricted stock activity for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023 is summarized below:

				Weighted Average
				Grant Date
	Shares			Fair Value
Nonvested, December 31, 2023		53,660		$	22.32
Issued		37,674			14.05
Vested		(19,112	)		19.95
Forfeited		(4,109	)		20.70
Nonvested, June 30, 2024		68,113		$	18.51

				Weighted Average
				Grant Date
	Shares			Fair Value
Nonvested, December 31, 2022		46,989			$	22.49
Issued		35,013				17.20
Vested		(22,003	)			19.86
Forfeited		-				-
Nonvested, June 30, 2023		59,999			$	20.37

The weighted average period over which nonvested awards are expected to be recognized in compensation expense is 1.93 years.

The remaining unrecognized compensation expense for nonvested restricted stock shares totaled $796 thousand as of June 30, 2024 and $523 thousand as of December 31, 2023.

Stock-based compensation expense was $130 thousand and $141 thousand for the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $205 thousand and $248 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.